Progressives may not have gotten the Democratic presidential nominee they wanted, but radical members of the party are making real gains in state legislatures throughout the country.
In Delaware, left-wing Democrats defeated four incumbent state legislators earlier this month. Among those who lost their primaries is state Senate President Pro Tempore David McBride, one of the most powerful Democrats in the state. He faced a challenge from social worker Marie Pinkney, who ran on a platform of gun control and healthcare reform.
Other unseated centrists include state Reps. John Viola and Earl Jaques, two Democrats with socially conservative views. Their challengers ran on platforms advocating police reform and gay and transgender rights.
Those results mean that Delaware could soon see marijuana legalized as well as a $15 minimum wage, two initiatives that the new slate of Democratic state lawmakers endorses.
The story is much the same in Rhode Island, which saw four progressive insurgents beating more centrist Democrats. Those who lost there included state House Majority Leader John DeSimone, who lost his primary to Jamaican immigrant Marcia Ranglin-Vassell. The margin in that race was just 21 votes.
Progressives in Rhode Island enjoyed support from the left-wing Working Families Party, a progressive organization that often works to get the most liberal Democrats nominated in state races. Local chapters of progressive groups such as the Sunrise Movement also helped recruit left-wing candidates, suggesting that national political organizations aligned with lawmakers such as Sen. Bernie Sanders may begin shifting their strategy to local, rather than national, races.
Pressure on Democrats in the state from progressives has led to a notable shift in the agenda of Rhode Island Democrats. State House Rep. Karen Alzate has called for a new tax bracket on those making $1 million and over a year. Other members of the state House are calling for a dramatically larger state budget, paid for by new taxes on the wealthy.
The recent victories by progressives in state legislatures follow a strategy outlined after the historic loss of power for Democrats under President Barack Obama. From 2008 to 2016, Democrats lost over 940 state legislative seats. In 2017, Republicans controlled 32 state legislatures, with Democrats controlling just 14. But in 2017 and 2018, thanks in part to millions of dollars of outside spending and support from the national Democratic Party, Democrats have recaptured nearly half of those seats.
In January, the party-backed Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee pledged $50 million to flip more state legislators. The DLCC is working to pin general voter disapproval with President Trump’s coronavirus response to local Republicans, blaming them for the economic damage caused by the pandemic.
“We now know that Donald Trump understood the deadly seriousness of the coronavirus since February and GOP legislators were complicit in his lies,” a DLCC press release read earlier this month. “Instead of focusing on saving lives, Republicans stood by the president and downplayed the severity of the virus, leading to 200,000 deaths.”
Forward Majority, a Democratic super PAC, is pledging an additional $15 million to Democratic candidates running for state legislative seats. Much of the energy behind these local races is due to scheduled redistricting in 2021, which can help redraw congressional districts to benefit Democrats for the next decade.
